Vaporizer



April 29, 1930.

M. QOLTON VAPORIZER Filed Nov. 19, 1928- I INVENTOR BY MAX cozJo/v 7 ATTORNEY 4 -Patented Apr. 29, 1930 PATENT OFFICE MAX COLTON, F NEWARK, NEW JERSEY VAPORIZER Application filed November 19, 1928. Serial No. 320,378.

This invention relates, generally, to im provements in Vaporizers, and the invention has reference more particularly, to a novel construction and arrangement of electric vaporizing apparatus for evaporating liquids such as medicinal, perfuming, disinfecting and similar liquids, and for discharging the vapors thereof into the surrounding air.

One object of this invention is to provide an electric vaporizing apparatus of the above character that is substantially automatic in operation, and which is provided with a novel means for cutting off the supply of electric energy to the electric heating element in the event the supply of vaporizable liquid should become depleted as well as to reestablish electrical connection to such electric heating element upon the replenishment of said liquid.

Another object of the invention lies in the 2 provision of'a vaporizer of the above character which operates to provide vapor at a steady and predetermined rate, of a substantially uniform composition, and having a temperature which will prevent undesired recondensation thereof.

Still another object of the invention is to provide a vaporizer of the above character that is of simple, rugged construction, and which is reliable in operation as well ashavingall of its parts readily accessible for cleaning or repairing. v a

' Other objects and advantages of the present invention will' become apparent from the following description, taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, in which, the single figure is a view in elevation with parts brokenaway of the novel vaporizer of this invention.

Referring now to the figure of the draw- 49 ings, the reference character 1 designates a suitable support such as a table or platform upon which the novel vaporizer of this invention is illustrated as being mounted. This vaporizer comprises aportable container or bottle 2 that is adapted to be filled with the liquid that'is desired to be vaporized. This liquid may be medicated, or it may be a perfume, disinfectant or any other suitable liquid substance. Bottle 2 serves as a reservoir for automatically supplying liquid to take the place of that-evaporated. Bottle 2 is supplied with a plug or cork 3 that is adapted to be frictionally retained within the mouth of bottle 2. Plug 3 has a central aper- I ture 4 terminating in an inner conical valve seat 5. A valve stem 7 extends through the aperture 4 and through guide apertures in U-shaped supporting frames 8 and 9 secured to the inner and outer ends respectively of the plug 3. A valve or stopper 6 is secured upon the valve stem 7 and is adapted to cooperate with the valve seat 5. A compression spring .11 is interposed between the supporting frame 8 and stopper 6 and urges this. stopper toward the valve seat 5.

The bottle 2 is adapted to be supported in an upside down condition upon the upper open end of a substantially cylindrical 'intake chamber 12. The upper marginal edge portion of the intake chamber 12 is beveled at '13 to receive and support the bottle 2. The intermediate portion of the intake chamber 12 is downwardly and inwardly flared and terminates in a reduced end portion 14. A perforated stop-bridge 16 extends across the interior of the intermediate portion of the intake chamber 12 and has its ends secured to the walls of this chamber. Stop-bridge 16 is adapted to be engaged by the outer end of the valve stem 7 when the bottle 2.is placed upon the intake chamber 12. This stopbridge acts to force the valve stem 7 inwardly with respect to the bottle 2 and effect the separation. of the stopper 6 from its valve seat 5, thereby establishing communication between the interior of bottle 2 and that of intake chamber 12. When the bottle 2 is not mounted upon the intake chamber 12 or while the neck of this bottle is being inserted into or removed from this chamber, the spring 11 causes stopper 6 to engage valve seat 5, thereby closing the outlet ofbottle 2 and preventing' any loss or escape of liquid or vapor therefrom.

The reduced end portion 14 of the intake chamber is screw threaded into a pedestal 15. Pedestal 15 is secured as by bolts and wing nuts 17 to the platform 1. Reduced end portion 14 is connected as a pipe 18 to the lower portion of a cylindrical control chamber 20. Pipe 18 serves to convey liquid from the intake chamber 12 to the control chamber 20. A cap 21 is threaded upon and closes the upper end of control chamber 20. A float 22 is positioned within the control chamber 20 and has an upwardly extending stem 23 that projects through an aperture in the cap 21 and through an aperture in a switch lever 25. A pair of opposed nuts 24: are mounted upon the stem 23 near the upper end thereof on opposite sides of switch lever 25. Switch lever 25 is connected in operative relation with an electric make-and break switch contained within a casing 26. As the liquid level in the control chamber-varies, motion is imparted to the float 22 causing nuts 24 to actuate switch lever 25, thereby effecting operation of the electric switch within casing 26. This switch is adapted to control the supply of electric energy to a pilot lamp 27 and a tubular electric heating unit 28. An electric cable 30 is connected at one end to one side of the switch within casing 26 and at its other end to a plug 31 that is adapted to be inserted into a wall socket. A cable 32 is connected to the other side of the switch within casing 26 and supplies energy to lamp 27 and heater unit 28. Fuses 33 are shown inserted in casing 26. A pair of push buttons 34 are also carried by casing 26 and permit manual control of the supply of electric current to lamp 27 and heater unit 28. Gas ing 26 is mounted upon a bracket 35 se cured to the platform 1. -The pilot lamp 27 may also be mounted upon any other desired support.

Control chamber 20is carried by a ped estal 36 that is also secured as by bolts and wing nuts 17 to the supporting platform 1. A downwardly inclined pipe 36 connects the control chamber 20to the lower portion 0 a vaporizing chamber 37. Pipe 36 is adapted to convey liquid from the control chamber 20 to the vaporizing chamber 37 Va poriz-ing chamber 37 is substantially cylindrical in form and has a cap 39 threaded upon its upper end. Cap 39 is provided with a central aperture through which the tubular electric heating unit 28 extends. This unit is adapted to project a short distance into the liquid contained within the vaporizing cham ber. vaporizing. chamber 37 is provided near its upper end with a discharge elbow 38. A shield 40 is threaded upon the upper end of the elbow 38 and permits the escape of vaporized fluid but prevents foreign matter from getting into the vaporizing chamber. The lower end portion of the vaporizing chamber tapers inwardly and extends through an aperture in the platform 1. The tapered lower end portion of the vaporizing chamber terminates in a clean out valve 41. The. vaporizing chamber 37 is shown as directly secured to the platform 1 by bolts and wing nuts 17, but it is apparent that if desired this chamber may also be carried by a pedestal similar to the pedestals 15 and 36'.

In operation, the bottle 2, containing the liquid that it is desired .to evaporate, is placed in inverted position upon the intake chamber 12 as -illustrated in the drawings. No liquid escapes from bottle 2 while it is bein moved into this position since the action 0 11 causes stopper 6 to close the outlet of the bottle. When 'valve stem 7 contacts with stop-bridge 16, however, the pressure of spring 11 is overcome and stopper 6 is forced oil. of seat 5 permitting liquid to flow out of bottle 2 and into the intake chamber. Liquid flows from the intake chamber through pipe 18 into the control chamber 20 and from the control chamber through pipe 36 into the vaporizing chamber 37 causing the liquid level in these chambers to rise. As the liquid level in the control chamberv begins to rise,

the float 22 rises also. After a predetermined rise of the float 22, depending upon the adjustment of nuts 24 upon the stem 23, these nuts actuate switch lever 25 from off to on position, thereby causing electric energy to be supplied to pilot lamp 27 and heater 28.

spring I The supply of liquid to chambers 12, 20 and q 37 from bottle 2.continues until the liquid level of these chambers reaches the mouth of the bottle 2, whereupon the liquid seals the mouth of'the bottle against the intrusion of displacing air, thereby cutting ofi the flow of liquid from bottle 2 and establishing the liquid level in the three chambers.

The heater unit 28 heats the liquid of the vaporizing chamber that is in contact with the walls of the heater unit and causes the evaporation of this liquid. The vapor so formed is somewhat further heated by that portion of the heater unit that extends above f the liquid level surface in the vaporizing chamber. This further heating of the liquid vapor prevents possible undesirable condensation of the same, as upon cold objects positioned in the vicinity of the discharge elbow 38. Since the heater unit projects only a relatively short distance into the mass of liquid in the vaporizing chamber, only that portion of the liquid that is in the immediate vicinity of the heater unit is heated. This is desirable, as it results in a steady and uniform rate of evaporation and the vapor obtained has a constant composition. Were the heat applied simultaneously to a larger portion of the mass of liquid in the vaporizing chamber, such mass of liquid would prematurely loosen dissolved gases before actual evaporation takes place which gases should be retained and liberated simultaneously with the evapo- I ration of the liquid itself, resulting in a vapor of variable composition.

As fast as liquid is evaporated within the vaporizing chamber 37, tending to cause the liquid level in that chamber to drop, additional liquid is automatically supplied by bottle 2 to keep the liquid level in all three chambers constant and up to the mouth of this bottle. Should bottle 2 become empty, continued evaporation will cause the liquid levels in all three chambers to fall uniformly and after a predetermined fall of these liquid levels, determined by theadjustment of nuts 24, the switch lever will be operated by the fall of float 22 to cut oil the supply of current to the heater unit and pilot light 27, thereby preventing overheating or possible injury to the heater unit as well as waste of electric energy. The condition of pilot li ht 27 indicates at all times whether or not te novel vaporizer of this invention is in operation.

It will be apparent that the location of the pilot light 27 may be varied as desired or a plurality of these lights may be em loyed. Also a va r conduit may be attached to the elbow 38 or conducting the vaporized liquid to any place or places desired. The superheating of the vapor b theheater element 28 prevents the undesire recondensation of the vapor while passing through such vapor condu1t.

It will be noted that the various parts of the novel vaporizer of this invention are so constructed and arranged as to permit ready access to all such parts as for thepurpose of removing any sediment or foreign matter which may collect and tend to interfere with the efiicient operation of the vaporizer. Thus,. with bottle 2 removed from the intake chamber, all parts of this chamber are accessible as is also true of the control and vaporizing chambers when their caps are removed. The tapered lower end of the vaporizing chamber terminating in the valve 41, enables a quick and efiicient removal of sediment by a mere operation of this valve. As many changes could be made in the above construction and many apparently widely difierent embodiments tion could be made without departing from the scope thereof, it is intended that all matter contained in the above description or. shown in the accompanying drawings shall be interpreted as illustrative and not in a limiting sense. a

What is claimed is a A vaporizer comnrising in combination, a bottle reservoir, an intake chamber adapted to support said bottle reservoir in inverted position and to receive liquid therefrom, a vaporizing chamber connected to said intake chamber and adapted to receive liquid there'- from, a heating unit in said vaporizing chamber in contact with the liquid therein, the

liquid level in said intake and vaporizing chambers being the same, said liquid level being fixed and determined by the position of the mouth of said bottle reservoir, a control chamber connected to said intake and vaporizing chambers and having a liquid level equal to that of these chambers, valve means,

a pilot light, and a float supported by the liquid in said control chamber, said float being operatively connected to said valve means and serving to operate said valve means in of this inven- 

